MADISON, WI (WSAU) – Republican leaders in the state legislature say they expect challenges to Governor Evers’ mandatory mask order, which takes effect at midnight on August 1st.
State Senate Majority Leader Soctt Fitzgerald said his GOP caucus “stands ready to strike down” the mask mandate. Fitzgerald didn’t say if the Senate might reconvene to vote on the issue. A written statement said: “The governor has caved to the pressure of liberal groups on this. How can we trust that the he won’t cave again and stop schools that choose in-person instruction this fall? There are bigger issues at play here, and my caucus members stand ready to fight back.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he expects legal challenges to the order. Vos told 27 News in Madison, “There are certainly constitutional questions here. I would expect legal challenges from citizen groups.”
The legislature can override an emergency order by the Governor with a majority vote.
Emergency health orders expire in 60 days unless the legislature votes to extend it. State Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) says he believes the Evers order will not withstand legal scrutiny. “He [Governor Evers] is re-issuing an emergency declaration based off of the exact same circumstance that we had earlier in the year. The legislature already chose months ago to not extend that. Simply waiting for it to expire and then issuing the exact same thing all over again, I don’t see as legal.”
Should legal challenges reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the conservative majority has been narrowed from two votes to one with Jill Karofsky being sworn in on Saturday.
